eeps logo the eeps Data Zoo
curator:Tim Erickson
Data for Data Analysis

This is the page where you can find some of the data we use in our science project. It may also be of interest to math and stats teachers, especially where you teach about linear and nonlinear models.

The pages are designed so that you can drag the little URL goody in your browser right into Fathom and the data will import properly. Each page also has a link to a tab-delimited text file if you need it.

We are naturally starting small, but check back here frequently as new acquisitions arrive from expeditions all over the conceptual and virtual worlds.

News
This zoo is up and running! Don't hesitate to send comments to

Hey, Ap Stat teachers! Click here to go to a text listing of some snook data. These are from 1985-91 in Florida. 2563 cases!

Pages
ACS Data PROTOTYPE A small sampler of microdata from the 2013 American Community Survey (ACS). This is another prototype; we're trying to learn how to make this data accessible.
NHANES Data PROTOTYPE A small sampler of some of the astonishingly rich data from the National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey. This is only a prototype; we're trying to learn how to make this data accessible.
Coins Weights and dimensions of coins from various countries. What's the relationship between diameter and mass? Could it be cubic?
Hexnuts Weights and sizes of hexnuts, both metric and English. Data extended from The Model Shop
Heavy Hexnuts Weights and sizes of hexnuts, downloaded from a manufacturer. These are "heavy hexnuts," as opposed to the standard ones we're used to. We're using them here because they cover a wider range of sizes. I mean, imagine the 20-pound steel nut that fits a four-inch bolt. Crikey.
Amortization If you graph the numbers in an amortization table, what do they look like? Can you model them using functions you know about?
Shopping Carts How does the length of a "train" of shopping carts depend on the number of carts? This is a standard problem in math tests; what happens when you go out and measure it?
The Mettler Scale You stick some clay on an electronic scale and weigh it. Then you tilt the scale. What happens to the reading? In this case, not what we expected.
Vegetable Matter Fruits and vegetables from our local produce market! What's a good way to predict the weight (or mass) of a cantaloupe? Can you use the same scheme on a cucumber?
Radiosonde This is height and time data from a weather ballon ascent (same data as in Radiosonde.ftm on the Fathom disk if you have it). How fast does the ballon ascend? How does the speed change?
Eddy Tube Drop We time how long it takes magnets to fall through an "eddy tube." We vary the number of pennies we stick between the magnets. What forces are involved?
Pleiades
Hyades
Data about the stars in two famous clusters. Which of the stars in the field are actually members of the cluster? How can you use data to tell?
Cooling A beaker of water cools off. We see temperature as a function of time. What is a good function to model the data?
Heating A saucepan of water sits on the stove and heats up. We see temperature as a function of time. What is the shape of the data? Qualitatively, is it linear? If not, how can you tell?
Roller Coasters Data from 15 roller coasters. We get, among other things, the height of the maximum drop and also the maximum speed. How well does potential energy get converted into kinetic?
Thin Lenses Do real lenses obey the thin-lens equation? Here are data from Real Live Students at San Leandro High School (go Pirates!) in California.
Rolling Friction We roll a cue ball though a photogate setup and see how the distance it rolls depends on the speed. This also provides an excuse to go to a pool hall on company time...
Mens 100-m Final, Seoul 1988 The famous race where Ben Johnson got disqualified. The data include the 10-m splits for the top four finishers. Study speed, acceleration, linear models.
Slinky Exhibit

Hanging Slinky Length

If you hang a slinky, how does its length depend on the number of coils?

Hanging Slinky Frequency

If you hang a slinky, how does the frequency of its oscillation depend on the number of coils?

Hooke's Slinky

Does a (horizontal, this time) slinky obey Hooke's Law, F = -kx? How does the spring constant depend on the number of coils in the slinky?

Three Tension Springs Regular old hardware store springs. We stretch them and measure the force as a function of total length. Do they follow Hooke's Law?
Electromagnet A simple electromagnet, nothing fancy. How does its strength depend on current?
STS-97 Launch Speed data from a Shuttle launch in 2000. Good for studying acceleration.
Ramps! A Gravity and Acceleration Exhibit

Ramp & Angle 1
Ramp & Angle 2

Following Galileo's footsteps, actual students roll carts down ramps to try to determine the acceleration of gravity. Good for simple quadratics, basic trig, and measuring angles in radians.

Tennis Ball
Cue Ball

We roll a tennis ball, and then a cue ball, down a ramp. This time we measure the speed at the end of the roll. Good for fitting models to data; also, preparing data properly for analysis.

Ball Time and Distance

Berkeley High students roll a steel ball down a ramp, timing how long it takes the ball to get to the bottom from various heights. Does the ball accelerate uniformly? And how do we deal with variability in the data?

Hanging Triangles A statics experiment from a physics lab. An application of trigonometry. Good for studying components of vectors.
Magnetic Repulsion Exhibit
Magnet Force 1
Magnet Force 2
How does the repulsive force between magnets depend on distance? Here we have data taken by students in Millbrae, CA. Good for looking at power-law relationships.

©2013 eeps media
866.341.3377 or

Last updated June 16, 2013

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Award Number DMI-0216656. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.